“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Sylvanus Smith, once described in a city directory as a “hog driver,” was a free black Brooklynite who promoted and protected racial equality, business ownership, and property development in the community of Weeksville, New York. Smith was one of the original … Read MoreSylvanus Smith (1831–1911)
Of the 167 enlisted black soldiers of the 25th Infantry discharged from the U.S. Army “without honor” by order of President Theodore Roosevelt after the shooting in Brownsville, Texas in 1906, Pvt. Dorsie Willis was the only to live long enough to see justice. According … Read MoreDorsie Willis (1886-1977)
“Image Courtesy of The Black Heritage Society of Washington” Dr. William Henry Calhoun, a prominent early 20th century Seattle, Washington physician, was born on December 29, 1890 in Jackson, Tennessee. Little is known about his parents or his childhood. Calhoun attended Meharry Medical School located … Read MoreWilliam Henry Calhoun (1890–1967)
People’s Baptist Church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, thrived for the first half of the 20th century as the state’s first and only black congregation. It served a New England coastal community where African Americans represented 4% of the population. People’s Baptist was the spiritual home … Read MorePeople’s Baptist Church, Portsmouth, New Hampshire (1873- )
John Berry Meachum was a businessman, a founder of the oldest black church in Missouri, and a pioneer in the education of blacks in that state. Meachum was born a slave in Goochland County, Virginia on May 3, 1789. His owner, Paul Meachum, moved Meachum … Read MoreJohn Berry Meachum (1789-1854)
Nicodemus Street Scene, ca. 1885 “Image Ownership: Public Domain” John W. Niles was one of the founders of Nicodemus, Kansas, the first black community on the High Plains. Niles was born into slavery in Mississippi in 1842 to a European father and a black mother … Read MoreJohn Wayne Niles (1842 — ?)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” William Henry Twine is best known as the crusading civil rights attorney and editor of two black newspapers in Indian Territory. Twine was born in Richmond, Kentucky, on December 10, 1862 to William H. and Amanda Twine. Soon after 1865 the … Read MoreWilliam Henry Twine (1862-1933)
John Sella Martin, who eventually became an influential minister, was born enslaved in Charlotte, North Carolina on September 27, 1832, to Winnifred, a mulatto, and the nephew of her owner. At the age of six, Martin along with his mother and his sister Caroline, were … Read MoreJohn Sella Martin (1832-1876)
College founder Elizabeth Evelyn Wright was born on August 18, 1872 into a large family near Talbotton, Georgia. Her parents were Virginia Rolfe, a full-blooded Cherokee, and Wesley Wright, an African American carpenter. Both Elizabeth’s parents were former slaves. Elizabeth was raised, however, by her … Read MoreElizabeth Evelyn Wright (1872-1906)
“Image Ownership: Public Domain” Born free in Washington County, Pennsylvania 1826, Alexander Clark moved to Bloomington, Iowa (later known as Muscatine) at age 16. He arrived with training as a barber, a trade which allowed him into the company of Bloomington’s leading citizens. He purchased … Read MoreAlexander G. Clark (1826-1890)
